NYC, one of my favorite cities on earth

The first weekend in May, my sister Amanda, her daughter McKenna  and my other niece Taylor all went to NYC just for fun!  It was one of the funnest trips I have been on.  There is something magical and wonderful about NYC.  I LOVED it and can't wait until I get to go back.  Taylor and I stayed with Robbins and Brian (D's bro and spouse).  They were great hosts and took very good care of us.  Here is my list of favorites:

--Walking around....it is so great to walk.  Really, I loved the idea of being able to walk out the door and go anywhere with the help of public transportation and the use of my own two feet.  

--Being with Taylor and McKenna.  I'm so lucky to have 3, 13-year-old nieces.  They are SO adorable and cool.  Sadly, Sarah was not with us, but Tay and Kenna were loads of fun.  Take a look:

--The Metropolitan Museum of Art.  First, I LOVE  art.  And, I love the idea that so much of what I love is contained in one building.  And, it's free.  (ok...you are encouraged to make a donation)  I was very happy to share my favorite artists with Tay-Tay and Kenna-Lou.  I have a dream of getting a master's degree in art history.  There was a special Degas exhibit (love his pictures of ballerina's--I use to have one on my wall growing up), and of course I absolutely feel inspired by any Monet painting:

--Time's Square....need I say more.  We did go to Madame Tusade's Wax Museum.  Oh, how I love a wax model of Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt.
--Our helicopter ride was a blast...even though it was bit foggy.  I only thought I was going to die once.  That is when I grabbed on to a foreigner's arm.  He seemed a little uncomfortable.
--The Yankees Game.  My sister Amanda is a HUGE Yankees fan.  My parents (who live in upper-state NY) and my brother Paul and fam (who live in New Jersey) ALL joined us for a blessed game.  It was a bit chilly, but a good game.  Thankfully the Yankees won.  It was also fun to see the new stadium being built.  I did bring home one Yankees hat, even though D depsises them.  It is the only time D swears...those damn Yankees!

The 4 travelers, left to right, Taylor, McKenna, Amanda and me.  We are waiting outside the stadium for the rest of the family to show up. It was a great combination of people...my family, my brother-in-law and my niece.  It's funny how life brings different people together.  

My sister-in-law Marla and niece Megan!  It was fun to sit with them and enjoy the baseball game.  OK...we really talked a lot. But, we did watch the game too.

--One of the best parts of NYC is the food.  Generally, I just love eating.  We were able to eat out with Brian and Robbins daily, which was tons of fun.

This is Vinyl, a restaraunt that has a record ablum on the front of every menu, bathrooms titled such things as Dolly and Elvis with a mural on the wall of the singers and their music playing inside.  There were also barbie dolls of famous singers and a very disco feeling.  The food was fun, and my dad paid, which is very generous!

Chocolate by the Bald Man, Max Brenner

Yes...a house of chocolate!

Are we in heaven.  

A whole menu of chocolate!!!

Here is a picture of my chocolate soup:

Taylor ordered chocolate pizza:

Amanda tasting her Pink Berry, a frozen yogurt-ish surprise topped with granola or your choice of berries(Just as a side note, it is SO FUN to be with Amanda.  This is the second time we have traveled together and I love it.  Where are we going next Amanda??):

Taylor eating a HUGE  hamburger.  I recognize at 13 you just really want normal food.  Tay and Kenna were good sports, but we finally decided they needed to eat, so we took them out for normal food. (this wasn't normal...in fact, Tay barely ate this)

We went to Chinatown for din-sum.  We couldn't see any other caucasians...it must have been pretty authentic.

--Another HUGE highlight was seeing the musical "Wicked".  I loved it and really think I could never tire of going to broadway shows.  

--I also loved walking around the city at night.  People stay out so late and you feel so safe.

--Seeing celebrities.  Brian has a supernatural power of detecting anyone famous. Thanks to him, we saw Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Larry King, Ivanka Trump and Patricia Clarkson.

--Going to Robbins and Brians house every night was a real treat.  Sadly, I didn't take any pictures of Robbins, who just happens to be one of my favorite people.  And I took a picutre of Brian but somehow it got deleted....grrr.  Brian, you are also one of  my favorite people.  Robbins and Brian, I love you!

Southern California

Here we come SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA!

So....here is a way overdue post.

In middle of April, my mom came to ABQ to stay with E and S, so that D and I could take N and G on a trip to Legoland, Seaworld & LA.  And when I say that mom came to visit I mean:  she not only watched two little children for 4 days, but she sewed 11 backpacks for girls camp, mended Derek's pants that he has been saving for months, helped with YW banner, cleaned my house, washed and folded laundry, cooked dinner, threw out her back, and caught the flu (amongst many other things). So...kudos to her.  Also kudos to Grandma L for playing with Eli.

So here are some of the highlights of our trip:

Our trip began with our GPS system named "Betty" taking us to the closest In & Out Burger to the airport.  YUM--need I say more.

Right after walking into Legoland there is life-size lego Darth Vader.  Now come on, does it get any better than that.  (OK...maybe it does, especially if there was a life-size lego Brad Pitt, but for 7 and 9 year old boys....it's the best!)

On my birthday, May 22, the new Indian Jones movie comes out.  Derek is seeing it at midnight, and Crazy Pants is flying down from SLC to join him.

Does it really get any better than seeing the sights of the world built one lego at a time.  AMAZING!

By far, this was the funniest part of Legoland.  The kids get to drive these mini cars around a small driving course with stop lights, stop signs, and driving on the the right side of the road. The funny part is watching all of the parents biting their nails as their kids run into each other,drive on the left side of the road, disobey all traffic rules and earn their "Legoland Driver's License".

One of my favorite things about G is that he makes funny facial expressions.  What a goof.

Feeding the Sting Rays was a huge highlight of SeaWorld...it felt strange...not something that humans should really be doing.

After watching the Shamu spectacular entitled BELIEVE, I truly believe.

Of course, a really wonderful part of the weekend was visiting with old friends up in LA.  We went to Diddy Reese, our favorite dessert in Westwood, and had dinner with the Gibsons and Eastlands.  Also, we allowed G to crawl down a manhole to rescue a lost toy.  Zach Eastland jumped out of his car to watch. It was so fun to drive through our old hood.  And, we laughed and had an excellent time with good ol' friends.  However, I think Shannon will never forgive me for mopping her floor.